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FPCC Celebrates 25 Years of Supporting Indigenous Languages and Arts in B.C.

Brentwood Bay, B.C. – The First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) is proud to announce the release of its 25th Anniversary Report. For 25 years, FPCC has provided funding and resources to communities, monitored the status of First Nations languages, and collaborated with organizations on special projects that have raised the profile of Indigenous arts and languages in B.C., Canada and internationally. The report provides information on FPCC’s key accomplishments, including impacts and progress.

Since FPCC began offering grants in 1991, the scope and breadth of its programs have grown steadily. In FPCC’s first year delivering funding, just under $775,000 was provided. By 2014/2015, that amount grew to $3,100,000 in funding to communities, groups and individuals.

“As we release this report, we have a lot to celebrate,” said Marlene Erickson, Chair of the Board at FPCC. “However, B.C.’s First Nations communities have been doing amazing work with limited resources for many years. Our goals moving forward are to work with communities to create new fluent speakers and to ensure that every Indigenous language in B.C. is documented, recorded and available to future learners.”

“Our languages have been suppressed for 10 generations,” said Tracey Herbert, Executive Director at FPCC. “FPCC has been fighting to bring them back for 25 years – one generation – but we have a long way to go. Although we are thrilled that Indigenous issues, including our languages, have been receiving increased attention, we need immediate action and investment to ensure their revitalization.”

Additional Quotes:“FPCC provided an opportunity for me to learn my language and through that, redefine my identity,” said Gisele Maria Martin, a 2nd year apprentice in FPCC’s Mentor-Apprentice Program and member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.

“FPCC gave me my first art award as an emerging artist, and now, 16 years later, I am passing on my sculpting and wood carving skills to many other First Nations women,” said Carol Young Bagshaw from the Haida Nation. “The staff at FPCC believed in me and now I am a self-supporting artist. I could not have done this without their support.”

“Our ancient languages are the voices of our homelands and the original natural laws that the Creator laid down for us to follow,” said STOLȻEȽ John Elliott, teacher at ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School in Brentwood Bay and Chair of the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation Board. “We need our languages in order to take care of our homelands.”

About the First Peoples’ Cultural Council:The First Peoples' Cultural Council is a First Nations-run crown corporation with a mandate to support the revitalization of Aboriginal languages, arts and cultures in British Columbia. FPCC is the key source of current and accurate information on the state of First Nations languages in B.C.